new-science
Prion Disease Reversed in Mice
February 1st 2007 19:21
Published in the current issue of Neuron, Mallucci, et al., not only stopped the production of prions in an infected mouse, but reversed the brain damage so that the mouse recovered its normal abilities.
Prion diseases are caused by a "broken" protein that damages healthy proteins in mammalian brains. In humans, the disease is called Creuzfeld-Jacobs disease (CJd) and can happen spontaneously or can be caused by ingesting infected materials (such as beef from an infected cow). Prion disease in cattle is called Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) or Mad Cow.
Currently, there is no cure for prion diseases, and the mice in the study were genetically engineered so that the researchers could turn off the prion production in their bodies. But the possibility of a cure looks so much closer now.
Source: Neuron, Vol 53, 01 February 2007
"Targeting Cellular Prion Protein Reverses Early Cognitive Deficits and Neurophysiological Dysfunction in Prion-Infected Mice" by Giovanna R. Mallucci, Melanie D. White, Michael Farmer, Andrew Dickinson, Husna Khatun, Andrew D. Powell, Sebastian Brandner, John G.R. Jefferys, and John Collinge
Prion diseases are caused by a "broken" protein that damages healthy proteins in mammalian brains. In humans, the disease is called Creuzfeld-Jacobs disease (CJd) and can happen spontaneously or can be caused by ingesting infected materials (such as beef from an infected cow). Prion disease in cattle is called Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) or Mad Cow.
Currently, there is no cure for prion diseases, and the mice in the study were genetically engineered so that the researchers could turn off the prion production in their bodies. But the possibility of a cure looks so much closer now.
Source: Neuron, Vol 53, 01 February 2007
"Targeting Cellular Prion Protein Reverses Early Cognitive Deficits and Neurophysiological Dysfunction in Prion-Infected Mice" by Giovanna R. Mallucci, Melanie D. White, Michael Farmer, Andrew Dickinson, Husna Khatun, Andrew D. Powell, Sebastian Brandner, John G.R. Jefferys, and John Collinge
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Comment by katyzzz
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This is an amazing study with such positive results.
Would that we be only mice, no cats around, of course, that's nice.
katyzzz